Exploding Stars Make Key Ingredient in Sand

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Exploding Stars Make Key Ingredient in Sand, Glass

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We are all, quite literally, made of star dust. Many of the chemicals that compose our planet and our bodies were formed directly by stars. Now, a new study using observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reports for the first time that silica - one of the most common minerals found on Earth - is formed when massive stars explode.

Look around you right now and there's a good chance you will see silica (silicon dioxide, SiO₂) in some form. A major component of many types of rocks on Earth, silica is used in industrial sand-and-gravel mixtures to make concrete for sidewalks, roads and buildings..

Read More: NASA/JPL